Common Ground
by Noxqua
Summary: It's been five years since the Second Wizarding War and Narcissa runs into someone she least expects at a bar in Knockturn Alley. What will result of it? Cissamione. Rated T for now. Reviews please!
1. Chapter 1

Sitting at the end of a seedy bar was none other than the cloaked figure of Narcissa Black, previously of the infamous Malfoys. Curled in her fingers was the stem of a glass of Superior Red, a final farewell perhaps, to her shamble of a marriage. As she downed the last of the dry liquid, she toyed with the notion of moving onto the harder stuff when a faintly familiar voice interrupted her mental flow.

"Mind if I joined you?"

The pureblood glanced upwards and met with a lively pair of topaz irises. Hermione Granger, Narcissa puzzled. Of the rather short list of people that she had expected to run into, the muggleborn certainly hadn't been on it. It was apparent at this point that her efforts at hiding herself in a rather shapeless sack hadn't quite achieved the desired effect - but of the few people that Narcissa could tolerate at this moment, Hermione's was one of them, albeit unfamiliar.

"Not at all." came the dispassionate reply - the tone clearly only achieved through years of daily practice.

"Could I get two firewhiskys on the rocks please?" Hermione smiled at the bartender as she sat down. "So what brings someone like yourself to a place like" she gestured at their grubby surroundings, "this?"

"I could ask you the very same." She hadn't expected this level of familiarity, but as social graces dictated, the Black took it in stride.

"Yeah, definitely. But I asked you first." Hermione mirthfully replied as she passed a glass to her the older woman, then stopping the second glass as it was slid down by the barkeep. "Thanks, Dint." she flashed a smile to the man.

Narcissa raised a carefully sculpted brow: relaxed posture and first-name basis - the muggleborn was clearly a regular. A myriad of questions had just been raised. "Very well. I needed a drink after the day I had and this was the closest place I could think of."

"Judging from the field day that Skeeter had with you and Lucius, I'd done the same if I were you. Although I'm sorry to hear it." Hermione paused and examined the blonde's passive features.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the relief of having finalized the divorce, but Narcissa's next move went against all the lessons Druella had taught her about airing personal laundry. Just this once, she decided, Hermione didn't seem to be the type to spread it anyways. "You don't have to be, Miss. Granger. Our marriage had only been in name from the very beginning, Draco was one of the few things that held us together. He's matured quite a bit and all notions of saving face went out the window after the war, truth be told." Narcissa winced, she hadn't used that phrase in a while. The alcohol must really be getting to her. "You haven't answered my question yet, Miss. Granger."

The "brains" of the Golden Trio snorted, "Please, call me Hermione. I'd prefer to leave honourifics outside of the bar. As for me, this is one of the few places I can get a drink without creating too much of a deal in magical London."

Narcissa smirked, "Ah, the struggles of being a third of the Golden Trio."

"Oi, Hermione! What's taking you so long?" came yet another recognizable voice - Ronald Weasley. Of course the ginger would be present wherever the brunette was, Narcissa thought to herself as she felt the amber coloured liquid burn on its way down. She turned around and briefly scanned the room for a tuft of red and found it in a booth surrounded by a group of people she probably knew.

The younger witch stood and flashed an apologetic smile towards the blonde "I'd best be getting back to them."

"Thank you for the drink." the blonde raised her glass.

* * *

That's it for chapter 1, I promise the next one will be longer.

Tell me what you guys think in the comments!

Note: Superior Red is red wine produced by the Malfoy Apothecary.


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright guys, as promised, chapter 2 is longer than the previous one. Enjoy!**

Hermione plopped herself down in the booth next to Harry and took several swigs from a bottle of Knotgrass mead.

"Blimey, 'Mione, that took forever. Who were you talking to over there?" inquired Ron.

"Narcissa."

"As in Narcissa _Malfoy_? The wife of that arsehole, Lucius Malfoy?" the ginger spluttered.

"It's Black now, Ronald. You know, divorce and all that, which I'm sure you'd know if you actually read." shot Hermione. She paused, clearly taken aback at her own surly mood. _What the hell is wrong with you, Granger? It's Ronald, you'd ought to be used to his insensitivities by now._

"I was just asking, no need for a fit." muttered Ron. Lavender patted his arm and shot an accusatory look towards the brunette.

"Do you want a fit, Ronald? Do you? Because I can certainly give it to you after you interrupted the actual conversation I was having." Hermione seethed, the pain in her jaw only fuelling the burning sensation she felt.

Their little quarrel had now drawn the attention of Harry who quickly interpreted the situation and decided to step in before his best mate got hexed by his best friend. "Did you see the Cannons match, Ron? Puddlemere's seeker was absolutely bonkers!"

Hermione forcibly exhaled and sank back as the boys' animated conversation dominated the table for the next hour. She folded her arms and fumed in silence, trying to establish the cause of her anger towards the red-haired prat. Of course there was the fact that he had come in between her conversation with Narcissa, whom she had tried to muster the courage to talk to ever since she saw her distinct blonde hair at the end of the bar. _You've gone traipsing off on a poorly planned quest for the horcruxes of the most powerful dark wizard of all time, you've even destroyed one of them. Why ever in the world did it require three drags of vodkacloud to prep your arse for a conversation with her? You didn't even have to talk to her! Serves you right._ Hermione stewed, glaring at Ron across the table periodically. Needless to say, he _had_ to open his gap again.

"Whateva' the bloody 'ell were you doing talkin' to _hic_ her? She's a Malfee, 'Mione, _hic_ a Malfee! Di' she imperio yooou? Tell me and I'll _hic_ go after her!"

"Ronald Bilius Weasley. Whoever I choose to interact with is none of your fucking business!" She slammed the table and shot up, knocking over several empty containers. Her inebriated friend was _this close_ to getting his mug hammered in and it was obviously evident.

"Come on, love. Let's go outside for a breather, yeah?" Ginny coaxed gently as she rubbed Hermione's shoulders. The brunette shrugged off the hands on her person and stormed off with a bottle in hand. The younger Weasley followed after exchanging a glance with Harry to deal with her brother.

—

Narcissa landed in a brightly lit foyer with a soft _pop._ "Chalky?" she sighed as she removed her heavy cloak and kicked off her boots.

"Chalky welcomes mistress backs." a house elf dressed in a pillow case squeaked as he apparated into the room and took the cloak from Narcissa's hands. "Is there anything Chalky can gets for mistress?"

"Run a bath for me, Chalky. Thank you."

"Rights aways, mistress." and with that, the house elf vanished.

Narcissa opened the door and walked into an airy penthouse loft with wall-to-wall views of muggle London. After spending all of her life being confined to dark, draughty buildings with suffocating decor, she had opted for an hundred and eighty degree change once she had left Lucius. The breathtaking scene over the Thames hadn't come cheap but it had hardly been an issue; what with her various investments over the years and the sizeable chunk of the Malfoy fortune her ex-husband had parted with.

She all but took in the spectacular cityscape below her when she found herself fumbling with a pack of cigarettes on the sprawling balcony as cold gusts of wind blew blonde strands into her face. Growling, she cast a _protego_ charm around her and then placed a cigarette between her lips. She reflected on the day's events as she lit up and took a drag. Lucius had been quite compliant throughout the whole procedure, and for that, she was grateful. Packs of reporters led by Rita Skeeter had mobbed her after she stepped out of the courtroom. Narcissa Malfoy would have loved the spotlight and the attention, but Narcissa Black did not. It took her close to an hour before she was able to ditch the flashing lights and the clamouring questions. By then she had been forced to cover her highly conspicuous form with a heavy cloak, blending into the questionable frequenters of Knockturn Alley.

The bar was nothing more than a stop for a quick glass to clear her head. And then she ran into the muggleborn, which did quite the opposite. Given both their respective statuses in the wizarding world, it was inevitable that they interacted with each other on occasion, but it hadn't gone beyond the brief formalities and polite smiles. " _So what brings someone like yourself to a place like this?"_ By now, Narcissa had dismissed the informal disposition of the girl as an effect of alcohol but it had still startled her, nonetheless. Exhaling a cloud of blue smoke, she stubbed out the glowing end and categorized the interaction as nothing more than an outlier, she had a bath waiting for her.

 **That's it for this one guys! I realize that some of the characters may seem a tiny bit OOC right now, but it'll all make sense in later chapters.**

 **School's starting soon so I doubt that I'll be able to post the next chapter in the same timeframe as this one.**

 **As always, don't forget to review!**


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